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Photomask

About: Photomask is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 7917 publications have been published within this topic receiving 54524 citations. The topic is also known as: photoreticle & reticle.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The performance of a two-reticle set based on a design developed to study the impact of global and local mask placement errors on double patterning using a dual-line process is reported on.
Abstract: Double patterning (DPT) lithography is seen industry-wide as an intermediate solution for the 32-nm node if high index immersion as well as extreme ultraviolet lithography are not ready for a timely release for production. Apart from the obvious drawbacks of the additional exposure, the processing steps, and the resulting reduced throughput, DPT possesses a number of additional technical challenges. This relates to, e.g., exposure tool capability, the actual applied process in the wafer fab, but also to mask performance and metrology. In this work we address the mask performance. To characterize the mask performance in an actual DPT process, conventional mask parameters need to be re-evaluated. Furthermore, new parameters might be more suitable to describe mask capability. This refers to, e.g., reticle to reticle overlay, but also to CD differences between masks of a DPT reticle set. For the 32-nm node, a DPT target of reticle to reticle induced overlay of 6 nm, 3 at mask level, was recently proposed. We report on the performance of a two-reticle set based on a design developed to study the impact of global and local mask placement errors on double patterning using a dual-line process. In a first step we focus on reticle to reticle overlay based on conventional mask metrology. The overlay between two masks evaluated for standard wafer overlay targets is compared with measurements on actual resolution structures, contributions of displacements on different spatial scales are discussed, and mask to mask CD variations are addressed. In a second step, we compare reticle data with experimental intrafield overlay data obtained from wafers on an ASML XT:1700i using the IMEC dual-line double patterning process. Reticle to reticle overlay contribution is studied on the wafers for both standard overlay targets and dedicated DPT features. The results of this study show...

22 citations

Patent
27 May 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, a photomask pattern is formed using as an opaque element a resist comprising a base resin and Si incorporated therein or a resist with a metal such as Si incorporated thereby by a silylation process, to improve the resistance to active oxygen.
Abstract: A method for manufacturing an electronic device is provided. In one example of the method, the method prevents deformation of a resist mask caused by the irradiation of exposure light. The resist mask has a resist as an opaque element, and can afford mask patterns undergoing little change even with an increase in the number of wafers subjected to exposure processing. The resist mask maintains a high dimensional accuracy. A photomask pattern is formed using as an opaque element a resist comprising a base resin and Si incorporated therein or a resist with a metal such as Si incorporated thereby by a silylation process, to improve the resistance to active oxygen. The deformation of a resist opaque pattern in a photomask is prevented. The dimensional accuracy of patterns transferred onto a Si wafer is improved in repeated use of the photomask.

22 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Lei Gao1, Jie Sun1, Xiaoqiang Sun1, Caiping Kang1, Yunfei Yan1, Daming Zhang1 
TL;DR: In this paper, a multimode interferometers-Mach Zehnder Interference (MMI-MZI) polymer 2 × 2 thermo-optic switch is proposed using the thermooptical effect of polymer materials and fabricated by simple direct ultraviolet photolithography process.

22 citations

Patent
26 Mar 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, the phase difference in transmitted exposure light between the opening portion and the mask portion of the focus monitor pattern is different from that between the starting and mask portions of the device pattern.
Abstract: A photomask has a device pattern, which has an opening portion and a mask portion, and either a focus monitor pattern or an exposure dose monitor pattern, which has an opening portion and a mask portion and which has the same plane pattern shape as at least a partial region of a device pattern. The phase difference in transmitted exposure light between the opening portion and the mask portion of the focus monitor pattern is different from that between the opening portion and the mask portion of the device pattern. The opening portion of the exposure dose monitor pattern has a different exposure dose transmittance from that of the opening portion of the device pattern.

22 citations

Patent
17 Jan 1996
TL;DR: In this article, an apparatus and method for inspecting photomask pattern defects, discriminating true defects from false ones, efficiently detects only the true defects, using a light source, an irradiation section, and an image processing section.
Abstract: An apparatus and method for inspecting photomask pattern defects, discriminating true defects from false ones, efficiently detects only the true defects. The apparatus includes a light source; an irradiation section for transmitting light from the light source to a photomask; a light detecting section for detecting the light passing through transparent parts of the photomask; an image processing section for acquiring image data of the pattern according to signals from the light detecting section; a first condition setting section for setting a coordinate threshold that defines a misregistration defect in the pattern; a second condition setting section for setting an area threshold that defines an area defect of the pattern; a testing section that determines whether the coordinates of a pattern feature and the area of the pattern satisfy the thresholds upon comparison to a second pattern; and an output section for outputting a signal indicating a defect only when at least one of the thresholds is exceeded.

22 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202322
202281
202150
2020124
2019179
2018195